Hornets sign four players

The Hornets announced today that they have signed free agents Ryan Bowen, Trey Johnson and Anthony Richardson. The addition of the three players puts the Hornets' training camp roster at 16.

Bowen, a 6 foot 9 forward, is a seven-year NBA veteran who has spent time with the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets. He has appeared in 432 career games (78 starts) in the NBA, averaging 2.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 13 minutes. Most recently, he appeared on the Minnesota Timberwolves' summer league roster at the NBA Summer League in
Las Vegas where he averaged 5.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 18.4 minutes over five games.

Bowen spent time with Tau Ceramica (Spain ) and Ironi Nahariya ( Israel ) during the 2006-07 season. He averaged 4.6 points and 3.2 rebounds for Ironi in five games and did not appear in a game for Tau due to medial reasons. His best NBA season came in 2001-02 when he averaged 4.9 points and four rebounds in 75 games (21 starts) for the Nuggets.

Johnson, a 6-5 guard from Jackson State, was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year his senior season at JSU after averaging 27.1 points (second in the nation) and 4.5 rebounds in 35 games (all starts). He earned First Team All-SWAC honors his junior and senior seasons and finished as Jackson State 's eighth all-time leading scorer with 1,698 career points. He played one season each at Northeast Mississippi Community College and
Alcorn State before transferring to Jackson State .

Richardson, a 6-9 forward from Florida State, participated on the Hornets' summer league team at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Richardson averaged 13.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in five games (one start), and shot .520 percent from the floor in 24.4 minutes. During the 2006-07 season, Richardson spent time with the Kansas City Cagerz of the United States Basketball League and the Butte Daredevils of the Continental Basketball Association. He averaged a league-best 20 points and 6.4 rebounds for the Cagerz en route to being named the Most Valuable Player of the league and helping bring the USBL Championship to Kansas City. Richardson appeared in 46 games (42 starts) for the Daredevils, averaging 15.5 points and 5.7 rebounds. He captured the Slam Dunk title at the CBA All-Star game.